SA consumers make milk a success for local dairy farmers

Posted on October 25, 2015

When it comes to showing support for South Australian dairy farmers, no-one beats shoppers at St Agnes. People buying groceries in the north-eastern Adelaide suburb have topped a list of 50 locations across the State for buying SADA Fresh since it was launched two years ago today.

Total sales of the milk across the State topped 2 million litres in August, with total sales at the Coles supermarket in St Agnes this month reaching almost 140,000 litres. Mount Barker in the Adelaide Hills ranked second highest, with sales totalling about 100,000, followed close behind by Burnside Village, then Bridgewater, Gawler, McLaren Vale, West Lakes, Mount Gambier, Blackwood and Victor Harbor.

“We cannot thank people enough for the overwhelming support they have shown our farmers since the milk first hit the shelves,” said SADA President David Basham. “We were the first dairy industry association in Australia to launch its own milk brand and obviously there was a chance that it might not work, but total sales are expected to reach around 2.3 million litres by the end of this month, which is extraordinary. During what is proving to be a very challenging time for dairy farmers in many parts of the world because of low commodity prices, it is making a genuine difference to the viability of our industry so that people will continue to have access to fresh, high-quality local produce.”

SADA Fresh is processed and packaged in Adelaide under a special licensing agreement with Parmalat, who pay SADA 20 cents for every litre sold exclusively through Coles supermarkets at 50 locations across the State. “We are so happy to see customers embrace our partnership with the South Australian Dairyfarmers’ Association by buying milk which directly benefits the dairy industry,” said Coles State General Manager Neil Lake. “We know our customers like to buy locally-produced milk and it’s great to see the community’s support for this unique initiative.”